Bombay HC orders TMC to seal health sectors operating without fire NOC

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on April 18, ordered the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to seal all private hospitals and nursing homes which are running without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Thane Fire Department.

The decision came after Sapna Shrivastav, RTI activist filed a plea. According to Sapna Shrivastav, the Thane Fire Department released a report last year that showed more than 50 per cent of the private hospitals and nursing home in the city were not having equipment to deal with fire incidents. A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar said that if hospitals do not follow the notice related to safety norms served by TMC and the fire department, authorities have the right to cease such health care units.

An affidavit filed by TMC’s counsel Arvind Aswani claimed that the Health Department of TMC have registered NOC renewable form of all 380 hospitals but only 181 hospitals were provided an NOC from the fire department. Currently, 129 hospitals have applied for applications seeking NOCs, while the remaining did not have it and continued to operate in violation of the fire safety norms, the affidavit read.

The bench said, “Since the TMC already had records of hospitals and nursing homes violating the safety norms, it must initiate action. Seal such hospitals that don’t have an NOC”.